Honey used in wound dressings has been extensively discussed and taught in the art.
One of the difficulties of honey for use in wound dressing applications is that honey is a naturally sticky substance that if applied to a wound can be difficult to apply and runny. Solutions have been proposed in the art to overcome this drawback of honey and yet still maintain the honey efficacy in wound treatment.
One example is the use of alginate gums mixed with the honey to form gels. Another alternative is that described in U.S. Published Application No. 2010/0233283. This composition is useful in that the honey composition is a gel paste or ointment that can be easily packaged in a tube or other pliable container. The gel can easily be squeezed out of the tube and applied to a wound. The gel described in U.S. Published Application No. 2010/0233283 forms a skin over the wound, keeps its shape when applied to a wound (i.e. does not melt or run), and is easier to apply than pure honey. Further, the composition still retains sufficient honey to provide the desired honey antibacterial and wound healing effects. A drawback of the composition described in U.S. Published Application No. 2010/0233283 is that the composition when stored in the container over time can separate, particularly at temperatures over 30° C. This is undesirable as separation reduces efficacy and aesthetic characteristics of the gel.
Natural based products may also be desirable in many applications, sometimes for improved efficacy and often to aid in marketing the products as being natural based and therefore able to be used in a variety nutraceutical applications. A further drawback of the composition described in U.S. Published Application No. 2010/0233283 is that it uses a non-natural ingredient being an ethoxylated oil or PEG60.
It should be appreciated from the above that it would be useful to have a honey based wound dressing gel that was both shelf stable and utilised natural based ingredients. It is an object of the present application to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.
All references, including any patents or patent applications cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinence of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents form part of the common general knowledge in the art, in New Zealand or in any other country.
It is acknowledged that the term ‘comprise’ may, under varying jurisdictions, be attributed with either an exclusive or an inclusive meaning. For the purpose of this specification, and unless otherwise noted, the term ‘comprise’ shall have an inclusive meaning—i.e. that it will be taken to mean an inclusion of not only the listed components it directly references, but also other non-specified components or elements. This rationale will also be used when the term ‘comprised’ or ‘comprising’ is used in relation to one or more steps in a method or process.
Further aspects and advantages of the gel composition described herein will become apparent from the ensuing description that is given by way of example only.